The celebrity chef told The Mail on Sunday that closing the London restaurant for a week might seem "rather extreme and over cautious" after the virus affected 45 diners and workers, but said that guests and staff were his main concern.

"My goal has always been to pursue perfection in the kitchen and to amaze our guests with taste sensations beyond their imagination, rather than expose them to the risk of a really nasty couple of days of heaving," he told the newspaper.

Test results this week have shown that there has been an outbreak of norovirus at the Dinner restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge.

The operators have now temporarily closed the restaurant and we believe this is the responsible thing to do.

Westminster City Council food safety officers have already carried out a thorough inspection of both the restaurant premises and working practices and will continue to work closely with Public Health England and the restaurant operators until the restaurant is given the all-clear.